The present invention generally relates to sliding mechanisms, and more particularly relates to linear sliding mechanisms employing rollers which ride upon rails.
Linear slides are used for literally thousands of applications. Some of the most basic applications are found in conventional furniture drawers wherein the linear slide is the mechanism upon which the drawers slide relative to the desk, countertop, or the like. In addition to such furniture applications, linear slides are used in a number of industrial settings, particularly in conjunction with machine tools. Very often a machine bed will need to slide axially back and forth as the machining operation is performed.
With regard to the machine tool application, it can therefore readily be seen by one of ordinary skill in the art that the linear slide mechanism must be fabricated to move along an axis with practically no play or deflection away from the axis of the linear slide. Any such play or movement would necessarily detrimentally effect the machining operation in that the machining operation is typically computer controlled, and any movement in the linear slide mechanism would therefore result in mis-alignment of the machine tool and the workpiece.
With that stated as a background, it can be seen that one possible option would be to fabricate the linear slide mechanism such that the axis of the linear slide maintains a very tight tolerance relative to a desired axis. In other words, the rails of the slide can be manufactured such that a constant distance is maintained therebetween. However, such an option is obviously difficult to meet and increases the cost of fabrication. Moreover, the rails must be continually adjusted as the machine is used over time due to misalignment resulting from heavy loads or shock loads. In addition, the linear rail system can quite often be deformed due to thermal expansion of the machine as it is repeatedly used.
A need therefore exists for a linear slide system which allows the rollers of the sliding body to maintain constant engagement with the raceways of the rail system to thereby ensure that the sliding body linearly translates across the given axis with substantially no deflection.
It is therefore a primary aim of the present invention to provide a linear slide system which enables the sliding body of the rail system to axially translate across a given axis with substantially no deflection away from the axis.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a linear rail system with improved rigidity and structure to thereby maintain accuracy of movement under high stress conditions.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a linear rail system with means for absorbing shock imparted upon the linear rail due to excessive loads, or abrupt stoppages or reversals of direction.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a linear rail system with a mechanism for ensuring parallelism between the opposing raceways of the rail.
In accordance with these aims and objectives, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a sliding rail system wherein a moveable body is adapted for axial translation relative to a rail body having first and second opposed raceways. The moveable body has at least one roller which slidable relative to one of the opposed raceways, and adapted to be fixed in position relative to the raceway.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide the aforementioned linear rail system with a second roller biased against the second opposed raceway. Preferably, the second roller is mechanically biased against the second opposed raceway using an elastomeric material to thereby provide a shock absorbing device.
It is still another feature of the present invention to provide a linear rail system with a means for monitoring the relative position of the rollers and adjusting the positions of the rollers depending on the disposition of the rollers relative to the first and second opposed raceways.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is a feature to provide a sliding rail assembly comprising an elongated channel, a slider body adapted to linearly translate across the channel, a first roller to the slide, and a positioning member connected to the slider body and selectively engaging the first roller. The channel has upper and lower parallel raceways. The first roller is attached to the slide and engages one of the raceways to facilitate the linear translation of the slide. The positioning member places a vertical force on the roller to vertically position the roller relative to the raceway.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention it is a feature to provide a mechanism for adjusting the position of a roller relative to a linear slide having first and second opposed raceways with the linear slide defining a longitudinal axis. The mechanism comprises a slider body adapted to move with the linear slide along the longitudinal axis, a first roller connected to the slider body and adjustable relative to the slider body along a first axis transverse to the longitudinal axis, and a means for positioning the first roller along the first axis, the positioning means placing opposing vertical forces on the first roller.
These and other aims, objectives, and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.